Over the past five months players have slugged it out in cup after cup in a variety of constructed formats. We are left with one final battle for players to determine the champion of fate: The Cup of Fate.

We have tallied the scores for the previous five tournaments and have determined the top 64 players who will be able to contest for victory over the cup. You can find the standings here (http://fiveshards.com/the-shard-cup/standings/)and complete spreadsheet here (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15pc1K-TK9E_yxVG-8wE3O2V2qpM2xWZXGi8r_CSolJQ/edit#gid=0). You have until April 24th to double check my math before the top 64 standings become final.

The final cup tournament consists of 16 pods of 4 players each that we seeded in a snake fashion (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15pc1K-TK9E_yxVG-8wE3O2V2qpM2xWZXGi8r_CSolJQ/edit#gid=1330872696). The tournament will be a standard constructed tournament. Until April 24th, players dropping from the tournament will cause a shift in the seedings as everyone will move up a spot and a new alternate comes in. If people drop after April 24th, then new alternates will simply fill their spots. As such, if you know you cannot attend the tournament on May 9th, please email us at fiveshards@gmail.com as soon as you feasibly can. If you are in the top 64 and drop out before April 24th, send me your in game name and we will send you a Shattered Destiny Booster pack for communicating with us early and allowing us to adjust the brackets in time.

Each pod is a mini-round robin tournament to determine who makes it into the top 16. Only one player from each pod can make it in. If you 3-0 your pod, you advance to the top 16. If you 2-1 your pod, you will have to play against the other 2-1 in your pod. If there are three 2-1s in your pod, we will break the ties for the play off based on game wins and pre-tournament seeding. Functionally, 3-0 players will get a bye through round 4. We will run the tournament through Battlefy.

We will seed the top 16 based on pod-finishing record, opponent win percentage, games won, and then pre-tournament seed. From the top 16 on, the games will be best-of-three single elimination rounds while the finals will be a best of 5 match.

Prizes
Colin is offering an amazing prize pool for this season finisher and we are both humbled and excited by his largesse for the Season 1 final. Our top 64 players have the following distribution to look forward to:

Notes: The cash prizes will be given through Paypal and, if Paypal or a mutually agreeable method does not seem feasible, then the recipient will receive the prize in in-game platinum instead. The airfare ticket is to be negotiated with Colin and requires his ability to purchase a ticket on behalf of the recipient. He will work with the tournament winner to secure a ticket, but if unable to do so, he will award an additional $440 instead to that player. Final discretion in all cases is left to Colin.

Rules, Bans, and Guidelines
We will be adding all of these as it gets closer to time for the Cup of Fate; we wanted to get an announcement out as soon as possible to prepare people for the format. Generally assume our normal rules are in effect.

If you made it to the invitational, please register here ASAP http://battlefy.com/zubrin/cup-of-fate/55398901c0a5974300ebd317/info

Zubrin

04-13-2015, 08:22 PM

Rules
1. We will stream the tournament from www.twitch.tv/fiveshards. We will cast all pairings, coverage, and rulings on this channel. Players should have it open/accessible to hear updated news. If you are casting the game, we highly recommend you use a card blocker and/or broadcast delay to enable us to do feature match coverage.

2. Reserves and Decklists: We allow a 15-card reserve. Consequently, we require decklists of all participants. Decklists must include the Champion, 60+ card main deck, 0 or 15 card reserve (must be exactly zero or fifteen), and any gems used in the initial deck configuration. All participants must submit their decklists to us using this form (link) (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1qyMBjHrCjPEi8kdCQ5qHpCV35BMgcDo1XZOnrt1ueCo/viewform?usp=send_form) by 8:00am PDT (WorldClock (http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=Fate+Cup+Confirmation&iso=20150509T08&p1=137)) on the morning of the tournament, May 9th. Do not post screenshots. Submissions must be entered in text. We will post the full set of decklists after the final Swiss round completes and also highlight the top 16 decklists. You may change gems during reserves/sideboarding, but not in-between matches.

3. Confirmation: Confirmation begins at 8:00am PDT (WorldClock (http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=Fate+Cup+Confirmation&iso=20150509T08&p1=137)) and the tournament starts at 9:00am PDT (WorldClock (http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/fixedtime.html?msg=Fate+Cup+Start+Time&iso=20150509T09&p1=137)). To confirm your participation, just log into Challonge at any point within an hour prior to the start of the tournament (8:00-9:00am PDT) and click the "Confirm" Button. If you do not confirm your registration prior to the tournament beginning, the tournament will automatically drop you; we cannot add dropped players once the tournament starts.

4. Matches: Each match will be determined by the player that wins two games out of three. The match ends when one player wins two games. The client will decide the turn order in the first game using a coin flip. The loser of the previous game will determine if they play or draw in game.

5. Reserves: Players get 2 minutes to side in and out their cards.

6. End-of-time Procedure: There are no ties in the Fate Cup. Each match in both Swiss and Single elimination will proceed to play their matches until there is a winner. Players must play promptly, however, so we can finish the tournament in a timely manner.

7. Slow Play: Since we are not watching all the games in person, it is difficult for us to determine slow play. However, if you are streaming and your opponent seems to be intentionally playing slow, call a judge over to your stream and we will observe the match. The escalation of penalties for slow play is: warning, time reduction for the offending player's clock, game loss, match loss.

8. Bugged Game Policy: Unfortunately, there are times when the game may substantially bug out or make it impossible to preserve the state of the game. If the players can preserve the state of the game, they should make efforts to do so. If the game bugs in a way that the players cannot agree to play through, neither player has fatal damage on the board/hands (if streaming or through provided screenshots), neither player is willing to concede the match, and the bug prevents the match from proceeding, then players are to restart the game. Players do not get extra time for bugged games.

A. There are several interactions that we heard exist, but cannot confirm the precise steps to replicate those bugs. In interactive cases, we will have to treat several bugs "as is". That is, play will proceed as if the bug were intended. Unfortunately, the number of existing bugs that we were unable to catch suggests that the number of restarts would be higher than necessary for the tournament.

B. If a bug fundamentally breaks the state of the game, we will have the players restart the game. The threshold for this categorization is higher and may include instances where a player's self interactions trigger the bug.

C. If you find an interactive bug in your match that we have not listed, do report it to us. We will try to keep a running list of "as is" bugs on the FiveShards website for quick reference. Additionally, if you find a bug that fundamentally negates your opponents cards, not only are you obligated to inform the judging team, but you should inform your future opponents. For example, if we were to discover the Nibbler bug mid-tournament, it would be the player's obligation to tell each future opponent that their debuff effects will not work on the card.

9. The administrators of the tournament are also the judges for the event. For the Sapphire Cup, the head judge is Zubrin and GaiusMarcus and JuzamJedi will be the first point of contact to resolve disputes. We will have a procedures and penalties document up prior to the tournament.

10. If your deck is built around exploiting a bugged card that is clearly bugged in your own testing, you will forfeit the match you are currently in and we will drop you from the tournament. Since this is early in the set, there is a possibility that people will discover bugs not yet reported. All such bugs should be reported to the tournament administrators for banning consideration (as well as CZE). We strive to ensure the integrity of the tournament.

11. Deck Checks: If a player suspects that an opponent is playing with cards that are not in their original configuration for game 1, or if they are playing with cards that are not in their decklist or reserves, the player can immediately ask for a deck check. A tournament judge will then cross-check the suspected cards with the submitted decklist. If the player is found in violation, they automatically lose the game. If a player is found to make the mistake a third time, we will escalate the penalty to a match loss. Players may request two deck checks throughout the tournament and checks resulting in penalties will not count against the player's total number of checks.

12. Any player caught cheating or attempting to cheat will be dealt with at the discretion of tournament organizers, including but not limited to disqualification, banning from future events, and withholding prizes.

13. Feature Match Policy: If you are playing in the Sapphire Cup and are streaming, we take that as consent that you are willing to allow us to use your stream as a feature match on the main channel (twitch.tv/fiveshards (http://twitch.tv/fiveshards)). If, however, you would not like us to do this, please let us know as soon as possible and we will not host your stream. If you would like, you can use our official card blocker found on our website.

14. To drop from the tournament, contact a judge and they will drop you.

15. The play order for the first game in each match of the top 16 is determined by tournament seeding.

Bans and Warnings
As of now, there are no banned cards. There are a few warnings. As always, be aware of all bugs in the known issue thread on the forums.

Additional warnings:

Highlands Magus—It can gain the +3/+0 inspire from PVE. While this advantages the player, we do not think this bug is detrimental enough to warrant a ban.
Construction Plans: Ingenuity Engine—It can make PVE artifacts. Again, while unfortunate, we do not think banning this card makes sense given the current meta.
Exploitative Behavior

Bun'jitsu—The abomination Bun'jitsu creates currently comes into play ready instead of exhausted. If a player uses Bun'jitsu's charge power, the controlling player must treat the created abomination as if it came into play exhausted for both blocking and exhaust effect purposes. Players who do not do this will receive a game loss.

Gwaer

04-13-2015, 08:39 PM

O Em Gee. That's a lot of prizes. I'm so excite.

magic_gazz

04-13-2015, 09:01 PM

Cmon 130 people drop. Lets make it happen.

Next series I hope I can make more than one event and if I can make only one I will make sure it is not a team one lol

AdamAoE2

04-13-2015, 10:01 PM

Fantastic Prize Support - Hope next shard series I can partake a bit more! :) Good luck to the participants!

Zubrin

04-13-2015, 10:08 PM

We are serious about trying to make the brackets known as early as possible, so I added this line: If you are in the top 64 and drop out before April 24th, send me your in game name and we will send you a Shattered Destiny Booster pack for communicating with us early and allowing us to adjust the brackets in time.

Nero_Jinous

04-13-2015, 10:22 PM

That cunning pod is looking hawt ;)

On a serious note That hatred pod and savagery pod are basically their own top 4 finals. Will be fun to watch.

hex_colin

04-14-2015, 06:53 AM

Good luck to everyone who has qualified! :)

nickon

04-14-2015, 07:07 AM

Holy cow some great prizes there! Good luck everyone!

Piecetinker

04-14-2015, 08:08 AM

Woooo! I am so hyped for this. Let's make it a good show! ^_^

Good luck to all contestants!

Colin, I can't say it enough, you are amazing!

jonsnow2000

04-14-2015, 09:24 AM

So psyched that I'm qualified for this! I will definitely keep that weekend free from all obligations ;)

And yeah, huge thx to both the organizers from Fiveshards for this series and Colin for this ridiculous prize pool!

Tinfoil

04-14-2015, 10:40 AM

Looking very much forward to the event. A big thanks to the organisers and of course Colin. Also, congrats to MarS who I teamed up with in the Wild Cup - I can see you made the pool :)

To the organisers (Zubrin et al.): Perhaps it would a good idea to have a constructive feedback thread somewhere after the finals? Maybe in combination with a write-up about the series? Just an idea.

Zubrin

04-14-2015, 06:58 PM

Looking very much forward to the event. A big thanks to the organisers and of course Colin. Also, congrats to MarS who I teamed up with in the Wild Cup - I can see you made the pool :)

To the organisers (Zubrin et al.): Perhaps it would a good idea to have a constructive feedback thread somewhere after the finals? Maybe in combination with a write-up about the series? Just an idea.

I think this is a good idea, but I am also a bit hesitant; a public conversation can deter people from contributing especially if facing a deluge from forum warriors; what looks like public consensus on an idea may have a large amount of private dissent, but rafting the flood waters of consternation and debate may seem to be unproductive.

Also, season 2 is starting directly in June and we need to secure sponsors before those announcements go live (we have two of the six cups covered and we haven't even started advertising it yet). As such, I do encourage anyone with specific feedback to email us at fiveshards@gmail.com. I will see if we can have a productive postmortem as we are always seeking to improve the tournament. That being said, we are also quite happy with how season one has gone. I think each tournament was better in terms of organization, streaming, coverage, and exciting the community. Of course, to remain the biggest community tournament, we will continue to innovate and do appreciate people's help to move us int eh right direction.

KingGabriel

04-14-2015, 07:01 PM

I think this is a good idea, but I am also a bit hesitant; a public conversation can deter people from contributing especially if facing a deluge from forum warriors; what looks like public consensus on an idea may have a large amount of private dissent, but rafting the flood waters of consternation and debate may seem to be unproductive.

Anonymous suggestion box then? :) *Scribbles down more tribal format cups on a piece of paper*

magic_gazz

04-14-2015, 07:19 PM

Anonymous suggestion box then? :) *Scribbles down more tribal format cups on a piece of paper*

*Takes paper and puts it in the bin*

Zubrin

04-15-2015, 08:48 PM

No one has dropped yet. Remember, if you drop before the deadline, you do get a Shattered Destiny booster!

Zubrin

04-22-2015, 08:55 PM

We have had one drop so far and pods are new. We have one day left for drops to adjust the pods.

Zubrin

04-24-2015, 07:40 AM

If you made it to the invitational, please register here ASAP http://battlefy.com/zubrin/cup-of-fate/55398901c0a5974300ebd317/info

If you are wizard, I do not know who you are and will not be assigning you a slot.

Gwaer

04-24-2015, 06:28 PM

That's Harry, he's a wizard.

KingGabriel

04-25-2015, 06:25 AM

I'm er... a Wizard... yeah... *throws confetti in the air* MAGIC!

Xenavire

04-25-2015, 06:31 AM

I'm er... a Wizard... yeah... *throws confetti in the air* MAGIC!

Er a? KG confirmed to be Mayor Quimby.

Zubrin

04-25-2015, 07:41 AM

If your teammate has not registered their spot yet, please do pester them. This is my last effort to make sure the pods are stable: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15pc1K-TK9E_yxVG-8wE3O2V2qpM2xWZXGi8r_CSolJQ/edit#gid=1330872696

Zubrin

04-26-2015, 03:24 PM

Only 12 players unconfirmed for the cup. If you know any of the players not in green here, please tell them to register. At some point, I will have to assume a no-response is a no-show.

Why wasn't that a part of the initial announcement on fiveshards? I would have missed it if King-Gabriel didn't post it on reddit as well.

Metronomy

04-27-2015, 04:40 AM

I just confirmed...and yes...im pretty sure there was nothing in the original anouncement.
I remember that it was written that you should tell if you drop out and do so as fast as possible. But nothing about confirmation. Now there is of course. Anyways..I hope its not too late. You shouldnt drop the people who did not confirm but write them a mail ingame and wait like 3 days for a response.

rx22

04-27-2015, 04:58 AM

So to confirm you just register here: http://battlefy.com/zubrin/cup-of-fa...300ebd317/info ??

Zubrin

04-27-2015, 05:28 AM

The first wave of notices were for people who were actively aware that they cannot make it. This wave is to make sure everyone who knows that they are in the tournament lets me know that they know. We need positive confirmation to distinguish those who know about the tournament and those who do not.

A vague threat with an indefinite timeline provokes a quick response to figure out who else I need to target; especially those of you who did not see or ignored the email via through challonge.

hex_colin

04-27-2015, 05:29 AM

I just confirmed...and yes...im pretty sure there was nothing in the original anouncement.
I remember that it was written that you should tell if you drop out and do so as fast as possible. But nothing about confirmation. Now there is of course. Anyways..I hope its not too late. You shouldnt drop the people who did not confirm but write them a mail ingame and wait like 3 days for a response.

They've been contacting people on Twitch/Challonge/HEXTCG Forums/In-Game since the end of the Wild Cup. The Fate Cup format requires having 64 people show up on the day. They're just making every effort to ensure that happens. It's not unreasonable for them to ask folks to confirm ahead of time or lose their spot.

Metronomy

04-27-2015, 06:07 AM

Dont get me wrong. Of course its completly ok to ask for registrations. Its just that it wasnt part of the original announcement. If they are contacting people its fine. Personaly I learned about the registrations today for the first time through this forum post. But its all fine realy..

Zubrin

04-27-2015, 06:14 AM

Dont get me wrong. Of course its completly ok to ask for registrations. Its just that it wasnt part of the original announcement. If they are contacting people its fine. Personaly I learned about the registrations today for the first time through this forum post. But its all fine realy..

Did you turn "Email new private messages" off on Challonge? It is on by default; I specifically sent you a message through it three days ago.

Metronomy

04-27-2015, 06:25 AM

I think i indeed deselected to get email by challonge (too much spam potential)..anyways..its fine in my case now but maybe you should write ingame messages to those left.

Zubrin

04-27-2015, 06:45 AM

I think i indeed deselected to get email by challonge (too much spam potential)..anyways..its fine in my case now but maybe you should write ingame messages to those left.

I figured a small vignette would have some additional impact. The real story, not fully replicated in the announcement, is that I was trying to figure out a way to publicly justify not doing fantasy this time in a discussion in FiveShards chat as it involved work. My excuse was the prize pool, to be truly epic, required me to go fundraise and it would take too long to do that, establish a prize pool, and advertise the event; I did not want to have a meager fantasy experience that seems tacked on.

Colin immediately jumped in and said "How about 10,000 plat for the prize pool?" and my plan evaporated under the laser intensity that is Colin's building of the community.

Perhaps I should have called it the "Highland Games."

Zubrin

04-28-2015, 09:14 PM

I am quite happy with the response rate of the fantasy competition so far.

If anyone knows Wolzarg, Afterlife, Aven, or Thrice, please have them contact me as soon as possible as they have yet to confirm their registration.

Zubrin

04-30-2015, 05:16 PM

Still looking for Thrice. If you know him, please contact him and have him get in contact with me.

Zubrin

05-02-2015, 09:12 AM

Rules

Saeijou

05-07-2015, 08:51 AM

I can't participate on Saturday.

Sorry for the late cancelation.

Best luck to everyone!

Zubrin

05-07-2015, 09:12 AM

Elademri is now set to replace Saeijou in the Conquest pod (pending verification)

Xenavire

05-07-2015, 09:53 AM

Elademri is now set to replace Saeijou in the Conquest pod (pending verification)

Does that alter the points etc for the fantasy competition? I didn't choose Saeijou (nothing personal) but if I have to re-enter my picks it would help to know early rather than last minute. :p

Zubrin

05-07-2015, 12:19 PM

Does that alter the points etc for the fantasy competition? I didn't choose Saeijou (nothing personal) but if I have to re-enter my picks it would help to know early rather than last minute. :p

It does not change the costs at all. People who have picked Saeijou have an opportunity to repick their squad and I have already contacted them.

The only thing that changes is elademri is a cheap pick. If this changes people's decision about their squads, they can simply send FiveShards an in-game mail to change their squad (please do tell me it is an alteration).

Xenavire

05-07-2015, 12:32 PM

It does not change the costs at all. People who have picked Saeijou have an opportunity to repick their squad and I have already contacted them.

The only thing that changes is elademri is a cheap pick. If this changes people's decision about their squads, they can simply send me an in-game mail to change their squad (please do tell me it is an alteration).

Good to know! I am happy with my squad, so I'm good for now. :)

Saeijou

05-07-2015, 01:50 PM

It does not change the costs at all. People who have picked Saeijou have an opportunity to repick their squad and I have already contacted them.

The only thing that changes is elademri is a cheap pick. If this changes people's decision about their squads, they can simply send me an in-game mail to change their squad (please do tell me it is an alteration).

People actually picked me? WOHOO!!! :)

Sorry for letting them down :(

And sorry for the inconvinience zubrin.

Zubrin

05-08-2015, 04:38 PM

Updated door prizes; re-used wild cup warnings.

Gwaer

05-08-2015, 10:27 PM

I always hate trying to sleep the night before a big tournament. Too excite for my round 1 exit!

Steelio

05-09-2015, 03:10 AM

I am super hyped up for this bad boy event! Thanks to all the organisers for doing such a great job, and a massive thank you to Colin for everything he's done. I hereby revoke my trolling of you guys on Reddit [The Collective + Fiveshards crew], because without you, stuff like this wouldn't happen. Good luck to all the participants, it's gonna be a good'un ;] I would say [though I've only been around since the start of set 2] that this is pretty much the most important community-run event so far. Good luck :D

Zubrin

05-09-2015, 06:50 AM

44/64 decklists in! Make sure to submit!

@Steelio: <3.

Seraph_Hex

05-09-2015, 07:10 AM

Out of curiosity, what is the penalty for not submitting a viable decklist or a decklist at all by 8:00am PDT?

Zubrin

05-09-2015, 07:23 AM

Out of curiosity, what is the penalty for not submitting a viable decklist or a decklist at all by 8:00am PDT?

We work with players to try to make sure everyone has a viable decklist by the time the tournament starts; the first cutoff is for us to be alert as to who is slacking and try to email/contact those that are still not in. If you don't have one by the time your first game starts, you will begin to lose games and then matches.

Additionally, we can't really check late submissions for other errors and you may receive game losses for silly things like missing sockets.

Congrats to BlackRoger, he made his guild very proud! Also congrats to Koma and the rest of the top 16, you all played well today.

Not to leave anyone else out, congrats to anyone who actually got invited to this thing - seeing this has really made me realise I need to enter more of the cups in the future. I expect some stiff competition, today's Fate cup was insane to watch. :D

Gwaer

05-09-2015, 07:28 PM

Great job on your fantasy picks btw xen.

Also, great job to all the streamers, as usual top of the line work. And to everyone else who organized this thing, great fun.

havocattack

05-09-2015, 11:08 PM

I recorded all my games, will throw em on youtube at some point, will probably record a voice over for them first tho ;) was some good games :D

KingGabriel

05-10-2015, 02:30 AM

Great job on your fantasy picks btw xen.

Also, great job to all the streamers, as usual top of the line work. And to everyone else who organized this thing, great fun.
He just picked his guildies+future :P

Xenavire

05-10-2015, 03:27 AM

He just picked his guildies+future :P

Which nearly cost me! Future didn't pull his weight. :p

But I had faith in my guild members, and while a few bad draws between them left them just shy of the top 16, their points along with Roger were all I needed to sneak in second, apparently. I am looking forward to the next fantasy cup though - will Roger be a favourite? :D

KingGabriel

05-10-2015, 03:29 AM

Which nearly cost me! Future didn't pull his weight. :p

But I had faith in my guild members, and while a few bad draws between them left them just shy of the top 16, their points along with Roger were all I needed to sneak in second, apparently. I am looking forward to the next fantasy cup though - will Roger be a favourite? :D

Well he's one of my favourites <3

Xenavire

05-10-2015, 04:10 AM

Well he's one of my favourites <3

Can't argue there - even ignoring the fact that he secured me a tasty prize pool in the fantasy cup. :p

But Roger has set the bar high - the rest of The Lions Share will have to storm the future cups and take them all! :D

Zubrin

05-10-2015, 06:29 AM

I'm toying with a live-market fantasy where people's pick increase/decrease the price of picks. If I can get it going in the next two weeks, it may be a permanent side-game to all cups.

Xenavire

05-10-2015, 06:42 AM

I'm toying with a live-market fantasy where people's pick increase/decrease the price of picks. If I can get it going in the next two weeks, it may be a permanent side-game to all cups.

That sounds pretty amazing. It would also increase the reward of sleeper picks! (Since right now the ranking system rewards people for stacking on a good pick with low points.):D

Zubrin

05-10-2015, 09:02 PM

There was a 3-way tie for 6th-8th and a 4-way tie for 9th (thanks Ne0). We only needed the first tiebreaker (average rank) to properly sort the field. These are our fantasy winners:

Congratulations to everyone who participated (and won!) all season long!

Thank you Colin for both sponsoring this tournament at such a high level and the very prompt payouts; the players (as well as the organizers) are quite appreciative at how huge and great of a tournament you have made this.

I pity the fool that misses season 2 tournaments.

wolzarg

05-13-2015, 02:52 AM

Had some harsh beats lots of stiff competition and a ton of fun. Sorry to anyone that gambled on me and expect more next time.

KingGabriel

05-13-2015, 02:54 AM

Matches now up on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1u_UKgJ5yVY93lgDFV8gLQqlsNttOfxz